This is a rather curious and abstract piece of graffiti writing from Mr Draws, who I know is always looking at ways to redefine his work, and likes to push boundaries. Sometimes Mr Draws will inject one of his ‘experimental’ pieces in the middle of a series of more customary work, and it is great to see.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
In this one, there are some parallels with the style of Benjimagnetic, providing hints at the letters in amongst the decorative work. The ‘D’ and ‘R’ are clear but the ‘A’ and ‘W’ are more fused together. There is a nice cosmic feel to the whole piece and I like what I see. Keep pushing boundaries I would say.
It must be nice (Hamilton earworm alert), to have talented friends who honour your birthday with a celebratory paint jam. On this occasion it was Andy Council’s special 50th birthday and he was joined by several artist friends in Dean Lane.
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
This was his own birthday piece which is a wonderful starling painted in his inimitable style. The stylised bird exaggerates the superb iridescent colours that starlings have which you can only really see when you get up close. This is a great piece, on a slightly awkward section of wall, but Andy Council has nailed it. Happy belated birthday.
Stephen Quick, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
I am on a bit of a tight time schedule this morning because I have to get a train to London to watch my beloved Arsenal taking on Leicester City in the Premier League. Actually I don’t ‘have’ to, I want to. This is going to be a quick one, in more ways than one… it is a recent panel piece by Stephen Quick.
Stephen Quick, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
Stephen Quick has been a favourite of mine for many years, and manages to transition between his studio work and his street work seamlessly, appearing to be equally comfortable with both. His stencil work is outstanding and he augments his pieces with a little brush work to tidy things up. The piece was painted as part of the South Bristol Arts Trail and is exhibited in the outdoor cafe at the Tobacco Factory. The piece honours the strong females in his life. Very nice work.
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol September 2024
I bumped in to Kid Krishna earlier this week when he was painting under Brunel Way which was particularly nice as I hadn’t seen him for a very long while. I’m not sure he recognised me without my beard. He has been on fire lately, even venturing into The Bearpit, which hasn’t seen any action for several years.
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol September 2024
This is a really unusual CRIE piece with interesting colours. Quite unlike anything else you see about the place. The two colour palettes appear to be so at odds with one another, but somehow it works really well. I am mindful that I have a whole ton of Kid Krishna pieces in my archive and probably need to dig them out.
My inclination is not to say to much about this outstanding character piece by Cheo for fear of spoiling it. Cheo has been a mainstay of character pieces in Bristol forever and although he has been relatively quiet in recent years, he can still turn it on when he wants to. This is a beauty.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
The character is painted completely in green scale colours apart from the goggles and gold chain – even the bee is green. A small masterpiece from Cheo.
It is such a good feeling when new graffiti writers on my radar start to appear once, then twice and then all of a sudden everywhere. Examples might include Raid, Dirtygypo, Grimes, Jevoissoul, Nips, Butch and so on, and now I am hoping that Fudge will be joining their ranks.
Fudge, Montpelier Park, Bristol, September 2024
Her last piece (and first I became aware of) was on the M32 roundabout and included a large eyed cartoon character. This one in Montpelier Park is a straightforward piece of writing, but there is something rather pleasing about her letters and her fills too are rather nice and dreamy. I’ll be looking out for more from Fudge.
When Logoe hits town, he tends to hit it pretty hard. When this collaborative piece was painted earlier in the month, I think it might have been a one-off, because I didn’t find any other pieces in all the spots he usually decorates so freely. It is a collaboration with Nova, about whom I know absolutely nothing, but it is a beauty nonetheless.
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
More often than not Logoe writes with thin script letters, but he has switched things up in this piece of graffiti writing with great big fat chrome letters with a bold solid black drop shadow. The whole piece is very neat and tidy and well presented on a red cloudy background. Of course, there is a sprinkling of small oval dots running through the piece, just in case we weren’t sure it was by Logoe.
Nova, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
Nova has painted letters using the same colour scheme, and also incorporated little ovals, although arranged a little more orderly than Logoe’s. Another cross-reference feature is the yellow ‘o’ in both pieces. Nova’s writing is also nicely presented, and I am intrigued to know more about the artist, but that might need to wait until the next time I bump into Logoe. A fine collaboration an a favourite wall.
Awkward has been getting noticeably busier in recent months, possibly prompted by his counterparts with whom he has collaborated successfully. This time though he painted solo on the bricked up flat wall behind the long skate ramp.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
The blue-faced character, wearing a baseball cap, appears to be resting on a wonderfully painted red cloud (emanating from his ear) and has a trademark speech bubble with the word AWKWARD spread over two lines. The large saucer eyes and wobbly lines to the left add a nervous energy to the piece. Awkward’s characters are quite unique and always come across as fairly wired or fraught. This is a nice piece.